The Relationship between Social Support, Self‐Efficacy, and English Language Learning Achievement in Hong Kong

Abstract

& This study examined the relationship between one sociocultural factor (i.e., social support from teachers, parents, and peers), self-efficacy, and secondary students' English learning achievement in Hong Kong. It is paramount to understand the sociocultural influences on students' language learning achievement given the strong collectivist culture in a Chinese context, which is characterized by social orientation and collectivism. Under the influence of Confucian philosophy, the Chinese place great emphasis on filial piety, hard work, and

Social Support Among Male Undergraduates: A Systematic Review

“…Similar positive impact of social support on students' academic achievement was found in a study conducted by Bai et al (2018) in Hong Kong among undergraduates learning English. Specifically, significant correlation was reported between English learning academic achievement, self-efficacy, and social support.…”

“…With regards to the instruments used to measure social support, there was wide variation, although Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support emerged as the most used instrument to measure social support among undergraduates (Adamczyk, 2015;Frison & Eggermont, 2015;Lee & Goldstein, 2016;Li et al, 2018;Roohafza et al, 2016;Wongtongkam, 2019;Yıldırım et al, 2017;. Other instruments used to measure social support included Perceived Social Support Scale (Gökçearslan et al, 2018;Wang et al, 2016), Social Support Rating Scale (Shah et al, 2016;Tang & Dai, 2018), Social and Emotional Health Survey (You et al, 2017;, MOS Social Support Survey (Ceglarek & Ward, 2016), Multi-Dimensional Support Scale (Ng et al, 2017), Perceived Acceptance Scale (Rodríguez et al, 2017), and Social Support Questionnaire (Bai et al, 2018). Specific characteristics of the included studies are presented in Table 1.…”

“…With respect to the impact of social support on variables related to academic achievement, it is also found to be positive, although the findings differ with respect to whether the impact is direct or indirect. For instance, Bai et al (2018) reported direct positive correlation between social support from teachers, parents, and friends and achievement scores of the students, and direct negative correlation between social support from parents and friends and achievement scores of the students. On the contrary, Li et al (2018) found an indirect path from social support to academic achievement via students' self-esteem.…”

“…Undergraduates experience not only external challenges but also cognitive and social transformation, which has led researchers to emphasize the need for more focus on this particular group (Rodríguez, Tinajero, & Páramo, 2017). Researchers have also pointed out that the performance of individuals in the future cannot be predicted solely on the basis of attainments in the past, skills, and knowledge, and there is a need to focus on strategies for psychological coping in response to potential distress (Bai, Chao, & Wang, 2018;Li, Han, Wang, Sun, & Cheng, 2018). In this regard, research attention has begun to be directed towards the social mechanism known as social support, which highlights the significance of the social aspect of a person (Marhamah & Hamzah, 2016).…”

“…In this regard, research attention has begun to be directed towards the social mechanism known as social support, which highlights the significance of the social aspect of a person (Marhamah & Hamzah, 2016). Researchers have presented social support as a significant element in encouraging undergraduates' educational attainment and in reducing their psychological stress (Bai et al, 2018;Li et al, 2018;Marhamah & Hamzah, 2016;Vungkhanching et al, 2016). Social support can be described as an individual's perception or reception from the immediate environment of psychological and social support (Lin, 2016).…”